The Mummy: Secrets of the Medjai
The Mummy: The Animated Series is an animated television series produced by Universal Animation Studios to capitalize on the success of The Mummy Returns. It premiered on Kids' WB! on the WB network on September 29, 2001. It is set sometime between 1920 and 1934. The characters and plot were derived from the film, but the series could not replicate its success. The poor quality of the animation disappointed fans of the special effects-laden movie. It was retooled and rechristened The Mummy: Secrets of the Medjai for its second season, which began on February 15, 2003. Although the quality is considered to have improved between the first and second seasons, the show failed to find an audience and was cancelled on June 7, 2003. Reruns of the show air on Toon Disney UK. Storyline Based loosely on hit movies The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, the O'Connells find themselves being chased around the world by the undead corrupt High Priest, Imhotep, and his lackey, Colin Weasler, while trying to get the Manacle of Osiris off Alex O'Connell's wrist. This takes their trip across the world, trying to locate the lost Scrolls of Thebes, the only things that can remove the manacle. However, the scrolls had to be destroyed to prevent Imhotep from possessing the manacle. Now in the second season, Alex is trained as a Medjai to combat the mummy as well as facing new threats along the way. Characters * Alex O'Connell - An 14-year-old teen boy with a fantastic imagination and boundless curiosity. Alex possesses the best, and sometimes the worst traits of both parents. Homeschooled by Evy, he knows ancient histories and languages incredibly well for his age. Alex also inherited his father's brashness, sense of humor and adventurous spirit, traits which frequently get him into hot water. As the series progresses, Alex slowly learns how to control a few of the Manacle's powers which Alex can summon by dilating his pupil in his right eye. But with these low level powers comes an awesome responsibility, one that Alex does not take lightly despite his tender years. * Rick O'Connell - Alex's ‘tough as nails’ father and Evy's husband. * Evelyn O'Connell - Alex's mother and Rick's wife. Just like the movie, Evy is the reincarnation of the Egyptian princess Nefertiri. * Jonathan Carnahan - Alex's uncle, Evy's brother and Rick's brother-in-law. Allies * Ardeth Bey - Leader of the Medjai. In the second season, he and the other Medjai train Alex, Fadil, Yanit, and other students to be the next generation of Medjai. * Fadil - A boy who is a student at becoming a Medjai. * Yanit - A girl who is a student at becoming a Medjai. * The Minotaur - A Medjai who chose to become a minotaur to protect the Scrolls of Thebes from Napoleon. He dwelled beneath Paris' catacombs, until he encountered the O'Connells. The Minotaur was thought to be buried by rubble, only to resurface in the series finale, where he helped the O'Connells stop Imhotep from raising the Army of Anubis. * Jack O'Connell - Rick's father, whom he is estranged from until "Like Father, Like Son". He is revealed to be a Medjai, meaning that both Rick and Alex have Medjai blood. * Jin-Wu - A young boy who happens to be the Emperor of China. He steals an ancient shrine and throws the O'Connells in jail when they threaten to reveal this. When the theft incites an ancient Chinese dragon to attack Jin-Wu's city, he admits his wrongdoing and helps Alex undo the curse. Villains * Imhotep - The title character and the main villain of the series. Many years ago, Imhotep was a priest who wanted to rule the world. He was already the keeper of the Scrolls of Thebes. When he was about to steal the Manacle of Osiris, the Pharaoh sent his royal guards to capture him and sentence him to be mummified alive. Years later, Imhotep was resurrected by Colin Weasler (see below), despite Evy's attempt to destroy him. He plots to seek the Scroll of Thebes in order to remove the Manacle of Osiris from Alex. When it comes to the fight in the Paris catacombs where the Scrolls of Thebes are, he does regain them before they end up destroyed by Alex using the Manacle's power to bring a torch underneath the Scroll of Thebes. Though he was thought dead when fighting the Minotaur within flooding catacombs, Imhotep managed to survive and strove to find other ways to conquer the world. Unlike the movies, he is able to speak contemporary English in this series. ** Colin Weasler - Imhotep's Renfield-like servant and Evy's co-worker/rival from the museum. In his 20's, Weasler is younger than Evy. He was always picked on at school and as a result hides a huge inferiority complex. Driven by blind ambition, Weasler's a liar and a backstabber and jealous of Evy's archaeological fame. Craving power and respect, fame over fortune, it is Weasler who summons up Imhotep in the name of revenge on Evy. But once the Mummy is summoned, Weasler quickly realizes he has gotten way more than he bargained for. He has two options, either serve Imhotep or be his first victim. Weasler wisely chooses the former. Throughout the series, Weasler is the guy who talks tough while he's standing behind Imhotep. As time goes on, Weasler becomes more greedy, believing that if he devotes himself to Imhotep, the Mummy will reward him once he takes over the world. During Imhotep's apparent demise following his fight with the Minotaur in the Catacombs of Paris, Colin was shown writing comics and claiming to be Imhotep's master when Imhotep returns. Although Weasler is your typical, annoying, egotistical, self-righteous, cowardly "yes" man to Imhotep, occasionally he's a physical threat to the O'Connells. He has also been considered by many fans to be the animated version of Beni Gabor from The Mummy. * Anck-Su-Namun - The former lover of Imhotep, who was mummified for betraying the Pharaoh and murdering Princess Nefertiri. She was revived by Imhotep by throwing her body into the Lake of Eternity. He needed her to locate the Scythe of Anubis, which she and Nefertiri hid away long ago. But when they acquired the scythe, Anck-Su-Namun betrayed Imhotep, refusing to be subordinate to him. However, Nefertiri, who has resurfaced in Evy's body, called on Anubis to reclaim what's his. Anck-Su-Namun, refusing to let go of her prize, went down into the Underworld with Anubis. However, Ardeth believed that they have not seen the last of her. Anck-Su-Namun resurfaced in "Old Friends" and took a magic ring, enabling her to steal the youth from others to regenerate herself before going after the Manacle. The O'Connells are able to stop her and managed to send her back to the Underworld. * Ninzam Toth - A Dark Medjai who betrayed the other Medjai, fought with Ardeth Bay as a villan and lost, and was imprisoned for his actions. After escaping, he plots revenge on every Medjai. He was defeated by Alex, Yanit, and Fadil, but returns to continue his vengeance on the Medjai. * Scarab - A monstrous scarab-like creature that was sealed away in the Scarab Amulet by the powers of the Manacle of Osiris. Alex and his grandfather Jack accidentally freed him while trying to obtain the Amulet. * The Aglaophones - Two female bird-like creatures whose songs can enslave any man to do their bidding. They tried to steal the Cloak of Isis, which increases the wearer's power tenfold, but were imprisoned in a wall carving by the gods with the Flute of Nepthys. Colin Weasler used the Flute to free them, wrongly believing they would serve him. They have aspects from both the Sirens and Harpies of Greek mythology. Episodes The series consists of twenty-six episodes. Seasons 1 and 2. The series episodes span from the travels in Egypt to around the world, reaching locales such as tropical islands, China, and even New York. The series follows the O'Connell family as they travelled the world, being pursued by Imhotep and his newfound lackey, Colin Weasler, all while trying to take an ancient wristband known as the Manacle of Osiris off of Alex O'Connell's wrist. Their chase across the globe took them to find the Scrolls of Thebes, which would remove the Manacle, though the Scrolls were all destroyed so that Imhotep would not possess the Manacle. In the second season, Alex began to train as a Medjai so as to combat the mummy, running into various other threats as he trained. Season I The first season showed the travels of the O'Connells as they escaped Imhotep's grip and sought out the Scrolls of Thebes. Season II The second season began to show Alex's commencement of training to be a Medjai while facing other dangers. Credits Voice cast *John Schneider as Rick O'Connell *Grey DeLisle as Evelyn O'Connell *Tom Kenny as Jonathan Carnahan *Chris Marquette as Alex O'Connell *Nicholas Guest as Ardeth Bay *Jeff Bennett as Fadil *Jeannie Elias as Yanit *Jim Cummings as Imhotep *Michael Reisz as Colin Weasler *Lenore Zann as Anck-Su-Namun *Michael T. Weiss as Nizam Toth *Rene Auberjonois as Scarab *Kevin Michael Richardson as Minotaur DVD releases Universal Studios Home Entertainment released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 in 3 volume sets. They were released in Canada on July 22, 2008 and in the USA on December 16, 2008. Video Games On November 21, 2002, Ubisoft released a 2D platforming video game based on the series for the GameBoy Advance system. Hip Games later released a 3D action-adventure game for PC and Playstation 2 on October 1, 2004. However, the game was not released outside of Europe. Category:Television Category:Mummy